How much are you willing to sacrifice to save a piece of the world?
Today a federal judge in Salt Lake City sentenced climate activist Tim DeChristopher to two years in prison and fined him $10,000. After a 45 minute statement to the court where he said that it’s not that he doesn’t respect law but that he “has higher respect for justice,” Dechristopher was taken immediately into custody by federal marshals. Typically, federal offenders are afforded three weeks to get their lives in order and say goodbye to their friends and family.
In 2008, as a parting gift to the oil and gas industry, the Bush Administration opened up tracts of land in the southern Utah wilderness for development. DeChristopher derailed the auction for that land by falsely bidding in the land sale. The land sale was later proven to be illegal and invalidated. But after an aggressive prosecution by the Obama Administration, in March, Dechristopher was found guilty on two felonies and faced sentencing today.
Since his action, DeChristopher has become one of the loudest voices for civil disobedience against the fossil fuel industry.
Solidarity rallies happened all over the country today in support of Tim. Members of the Salt Lake City community blockaded the entrances of the federal courthouse in response to the sentencing. We held a rally at the San Francisco federal building. Here are some pics:
